The Japanese know well about such cataclysmic events as earthquakes, typhoons, floods, volcanic eruptions and tsunami, and fully empathize when other parts of the world suffer such catastrophes. But what do they have to say about heat domes — beneath which the mercury hits 45 degrees Celsius or higher — a phenomena from which they have so far been spared?
On June 29, the Canadian village of Lytton, British Columbia, recorded a record-setting high temperature of 49.6 C. Along with several hundred deaths, the heat caused numerous forest fires, possibly dooming the town’s very existence.
Akira Mori, president of Tokyo-based Weather Map Co., Ltd. was unable to conceal his astonishment.